Pre-measured material dispenser with pivoting reservoir

ABSTRACT

A device for dispensing a pre-measured amount of material from a container having a closed bottom, a mouth opening and a side wall. The device includes a discharge tube and a measuring reservoir pivotably attached to a lower end of the discharge tube for capturing a pre-determined amount of material. The reservoir is pivotable from a first position in which the reservoir is substantially parallel to the discharge tube to a second position in which the discharge tube and the reservoir are substantially perpendicular to one another. With the reservoir in the first position, the reservoir and the discharge tube are insertable into a container having a relatively narrow mouth opening. With the reservoir in the second position, the discharge opening of the reservoir communicates with an opening in the second end of the discharge tube, in a dispensing ready position.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 11/244,556, filed Oct. 6, 2005 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,726,523, andowned in common herewith, the contents of which are hereby incorporatedby reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a dispensing device, and moreparticularly a device for dispensing a pre-measured amount of a liquidor powdered material from inside a container.

DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART

Numerous devices are known for dispensing a measured amount of a liquidor powdered material from inside a container. Most such devices comprisean elongated tube having a flared, funnel-shaped extension at its lowerend. The funnel-shaped extension forms the lower reservoir which is usedto capture a pre-measured amount of powder from inside the container. Anexample of such a device is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,323,938 toCeccarelli et al.

In order to install such a device in a container, it is necessary toinsert the tube and the funnel-shaped extension through the mouth of thecontainer. However, due to the size of the funnel, the usefulness ofsuch devices is necessarily limited to containers having relatively widemouth openings.

Therefore, there is a need for pre-measured material dispensers whichare capable of being installed in a wide variety of containers,including those having relatively narrow mouth openings.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE APPLICATION

The present application provides a device for dispensing a pre-measuredamount of a material from inside a container, the device beingparticularly adapted for insertion into containers having relativelynarrow mouth openings.

In one aspect, the present application provides device for dispensing apre-measured amount of material from a container having a closed bottom,a mouth opening and a side wall comprises a discharge tube, connectingmeans for connecting an upper end of the discharge tube to the mouthopening of the container, a measuring reservoir attached to a lower endof the discharge tube for capturing a pre-determined amount of material,and pivot means pivotably connecting the reservoir to the dischargetube. The reservoir is pivotable from a first position in which thereservoir is substantially parallel to the discharge tube to a secondposition in which the discharge tube and the reservoir are substantiallyperpendicular to one another. With the reservoir in the first position,the reservoir and the discharge tube are insertable into a containerhaving a relatively narrow mouth opening. With the reservoir in thesecond position, the discharge opening of the reservoir communicateswith an opening in the second end of the discharge tube, in a dispensingready position.

In another aspect, the present application discloses a dispensing devicefor dispensing a pre-measured amount of a material from a containerhaving a closed bottom and a mouth opening. The dispensing deviceincludes a discharge tube having a first end and a second end withopenings being provided at the ends to permit flow of the materialthrough the tube, the discharge tube defining a longitudinal tube axis;a connecting collar for connecting the first end of the discharge tubeto the mouth opening of the container; and a measuring reservoirattached to the second end of the discharge tube, the reservoir having aside wall defining an inlet opening and a discharge opening and formingan elongate body having a longitudinal reservoir axis. The measuringreservoir is pivotably connected to the discharge tube about atransverse pivot axis perpendicular to the longitudinal tube axis and tothe longitudinal reservoir axis. The reservoir being pivotable from afirst position in which the tube axis is substantially parallel to thereservoir axis to a second position in which the tube axis and thereservoir axis are substantially perpendicular to one another. With thereservoir in the first position, the reservoir and the discharge tubeare insertable through the mouth opening of the container and, with thereservoir in the second position, the discharge opening of the reservoircommunicates with and sealingly engages the opening in the second end ofthe discharge tube. A portion of the reservoir and a portion of thedischarge tube may be in overlapping relation, while in either the firstposition or the second position.

In yet another aspect, the present application describes a container fordispensing a pre-measured amount of a material. The container includes acontainer wall defining a mouth opening and a closed bottom of thecontainer; and a dispensing device. The dispensing device includes adischarge tube having a first end and a second end with openings beingprovided at the ends to permit flow of the material through the tube,the discharge tube defining a longitudinal tube axis, a connectingcollar connecting the first end of the discharge tube to the mouthopening of the container, and a measuring reservoir attached to thesecond end of the discharge tube, the reservoir having a side walldefining an inlet opening and a discharge opening and forming anelongate body having a longitudinal reservoir axis. The measuringreservoir is pivotably connected to the discharge tube about atransverse pivot axis perpendicular to the longitudinal tube axis and tothe longitudinal reservoir axis. Before insertion into the container,the reservoir is pivotable from a first position in which the tube axisis substantially parallel to the reservoir axis to a second position inwhich the tube axis and the reservoir axis are substantiallyperpendicular to one another. With the reservoir in the first position,the reservoir and the discharge tube are insertable through the mouthopening of the container and, with the reservoir in the second position,the discharge opening of the reservoir communicates with and sealinglyengages the opening in the second end of the discharge tube. Thereservoir is held in the second position after insertion into thecontainer due to contact with the closed bottom end of the containerthat causes the reservoir to pivot into and stay in the second position.A portion of the reservoir and a portion of the discharge tube are inoverlapping relation in either the first position or the secondposition.

Other aspects and features of the present application will be apparentto those of ordinary skill in the art from a review of the followingdetailed description when considered in conjunction with the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Reference will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanyingdrawings which show an embodiment of the present application, and inwhich:

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a dispensing device with a reservoirsubstantially perpendicular to a discharge tube;

FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of a lower portion of the dispensingdevice of FIG. 1 with the reservoir substantially parallel to thedischarge tube;

FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of the dispensing device of FIG. 1,showing an inlet opening of the reservoir and the underside of aconnecting collar at the upper end of the discharge tube;

FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of a lower portion of the dispensingdevice of FIG. 1, showing a concave portion of the reservoir and atailpiece at the lower end of the discharge tube;

FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of a lower portion of the dispensingdevice of FIG. 1, showing a notched portion at the end of the reservoir;and

FIG. 6 shows a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of a dispensingdevice inserted within a container.

Similar reference numerals are used in different figures to denotesimilar components.

DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS

Referring to the accompanying drawings, FIG. 1 shows a perspective viewof a dispensing device 10 and FIG. 6 shows a cross-sectional view of thedispensing device 10 inserted within a container 12. The dispensingdevice 10 is designed to fit inside the container 12. The container 12is shown as having a bottom 14, a sidewall 16, a mouth opening 18 and ahandle 20. The container 12 is filled with a material 22 which is to bedispensed from the container 12. The material 22 may be a liquid in someembodiments. In some embodiments, the material 22 may be a powder.

The dispensing device 10 comprises a vertical discharge tube 24 havingan upper end 26 (also referred to herein as the “first end”) and a lowerend 28 (also referred to herein as the “second end”), a connectingcollar 30 attached to the upper end 26 of tube 24 for connecting thedevice 10 to the mouth opening 18, and a measuring reservoir 32pivotably attached to the lower end 28 of tube 24.

Measuring reservoir 32 comprises an elongate body extending along areservoir axis R, and in one embodiment includes a generally cylindricalside wall 34 with closed end walls 36 and 38. The reservoir 32 has aninlet opening 40 through which material 22 enters the reservoir and adischarge opening 42 through which the material 22 leaves the reservoir.The inlet opening 40 of device 10 may be formed in the side wall 34intermediate the two closed end walls 36 and 38. As shown in thedrawings, the inlet opening 40 is elongate along the reservoir axis Rand is substantially centrally located between the end walls 36 and 38of reservoir 32.

As can be seen from FIGS. 1 and 2, the reservoir 32 is pivotablyconnected to the lower end 28 of discharge tube 24. The pivot axis Pabout which the reservoir pivots extends through the lower end 28 ofdischarge tube 24 transverse to tube axis T and through reservoir 32intermediate the two closed ends 36 and 38 and substantially transverseto the reservoir axis R.

The diameter of the cylindrical side wall 34 of reservoir 32 is smallerthan the diameter of the mouth opening 18. This permits the reservoir 32to be inserted through the mouth opening 18 with the reservoir 32substantially parallel to the discharge tube 24 as shown in FIG. 2. Withthe reservoir 32 substantially perpendicular to the discharge tube 24 asshown in FIG. 1, the discharge opening 42 of the reservoir communicateswith an opening 44 at the lower end 28 of discharge tube 24 and theinlet opening 40 faces the bottom 14 of container 12. The positions ofthe reservoir 32 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 are also referred to herein asthe “second position” and the “first position”, respectively.

Although the embodiment shown in the drawings features the inlet opening40 on the underside of the measuring reservoir 32 when in the secondposition, it will be appreciated that in some embodiments, the inletopening 40 may be positioned at the side of the measuring reservoir 32,or partly between the side and the underside. In yet other embodiments,the inlet opening 40 may be positioned in the closed end wall 36. In oneembodiment, the closed end wall 36 is substantially removed so as toform the inlet opening 40. Other variations in placement or formation ofthe inlet opening 40 will be appreciated by those ordinarily skilled inthe art.

Since the pivot axis P extends through reservoir 32 intermediate its endwalls 36 and 38, a portion 46 of reservoir 32 is adjacent to, or“overlaps”, a portion 48 of the discharge tube 24 when the reservoir 32is in the position shown in FIG. 2. With the reservoir in this position,it will be appreciated that the combined diameter of the overlappingportions 46 and 48 of reservoir 32 may be smaller than the diameter ofthe mouth opening 18 to allow device 10 to be inserted into container12. To reduce the combined diameter of the overlapping portions 46 and48, the overlapping portion 48 of the discharge tube 24 may be nestedwith the overlapping portion 46 of the reservoir 32. Therefore, the sidewall 34 of reservoir 32 is provided with a concave portion 50 into whichthe overlapping portion 48 of discharge tube 24 can be nested. In someembodiments, the degree of nesting is such that the combined diameter ofoverlapping portions 46 and 48 is substantially the same as the diameterof the reservoir 32. This permits the reservoir 32 to have a diameterwhich is only slightly less than that of the mouth opening 18.

The concave portion 50 is coincident with the overlapping portion 46 ofreservoir 32 and extends from crescent-shaped end wall 38 to point 39,which is slightly beyond the location of pivot axis P. In oneembodiment, to ensure that the inlet opening 40 of the reservoir 32 willface the bottom 14 of container 12, the concave portion 50 and the inletopening 40 are located on opposite sides of reservoir 32.

Device 10 further includes a mechanism for pivoting reservoir 32relative to the lower end 28 of discharge tube 24. In the embodimentshown in FIG. 4, the pivot mechanism comprises a pair of projections 54on opposite sides of discharge tube 24, and corresponding depressions 56in the concave portion 50 of reservoir 32. Pivot axis P passes throughthe projections 54 and depressions 56.

The opening 44 in the lower end 28 of discharge tube 24 may be locatedon the side wall of the tube 24. The opening 44 faces in a directionperpendicular to the tube axis T and with an angular spacing between theprojections 54 and the centre of opening 44 being about 90 degrees, suchthat the opening 44 also faces in a direction perpendicular to the pivotaxis P. The discharge tube 24 also has a closed end wall 60 below theopening 44.

As mentioned above, the opening 44 in discharge tube 24 communicateswith the discharge opening 42 of reservoir 32 in the position shown inFIGS. 1 and 6. Therefore, the discharge opening 42 is located at point39 at the end of the concave portion 50, facing parallel to thereservoir axis R, radially inwardly of the side wall 34.

In one embodiment, the discharge tube 24 may be cylindrical, with theconcave portion 50 of the reservoir 32 being substantially semi-circularin cross-section. The discharge tube 24 may be shaped to closely engagethe concave portion 50 of reservoir 32, and therefore the closed endwall 60 of discharge tube 24 is rounded. The rounded end wall 60sealingly engages the concave portion 50 of the reservoir 32 to preventsubstantial leakage of material 22 between the tube 24 and reservoir 32during material dispensing.

Furthermore, the termination point 39 of concave portion 50 may beU-shaped as shown in FIG. 2 so as to substantially sealingly engage theside wall of discharge tube 24 immediately above the opening 44, inorder to prevent substantial escape of material 22 during dispensing.

In order to retain the reservoir in the vertical position as shown inFIG. 2 during insertion into container 12, the discharge tube isprovided with an elongate tail piece 62 which fits into an elongategroove 64 in the concave portion 50 of reservoir 32. The tail pieceextends along the side surface of discharge tube 24 opposite the opening44, and comprises a narrow elongate member having an upper end 66 and alower end 68. The lower end 68 of tail piece 62 may be disposedproximate the lower end 28 of discharge tube 24 and spaced therefrom.

The elongate groove 64 in concave portion 50 is substantially parallelto the reservoir axis R. The tail piece 62 forms a snap fit with thegroove 64, the snap fit being overcome when the reservoir 32 is pressedagainst the bottom 14 of the container 12 during installation of thedevice 10, as will be discussed in more detail below.

As best seen in FIG. 3, the side wall 34 of reservoir 32 is providedwith a V-shaped notch 70 extending along the reservoir axis from theinlet opening 40 of reservoir 32 to end wall 36 of reservoir 32. Thenotch 70 widens and deepens from the inlet opening 40 to the end wall36. Notch 70 functions to allow excess material 22 to overflow frominlet opening 40 during inversion of container 12. As shown in FIG. 5,the provision of notch 70 causes side wall 34 of reservoir 32 to slopeupwardly from the inlet opening 40 to closed end wall 36. When thedevice 10 is inserted into container 12, the reservoir 32 contacts thebottom 14 of container 12 at a point 72 where notch 70 intersects endwall 36 of reservoir 32. Providing an upward slope at this point assistsin pivoting the reservoir 32 from the configuration shown in FIG. 2 tothat shown in FIG. 1.

The connecting collar 30 may be provided with a discharge spout 74through which the material 22 is dispensed. Spout 74 is preferably cutat an angle of about 45° to assist in pouring the material 22. Theconnecting collar 30 may be formed as an annular collar surroundingspout 74. In one embodiment, the connecting collar 30 includes acylindrical side wall 76 spaced from and extending around the dischargespout 74. The cylindrical side wall 76 and discharge spout 74 may beintegrally formed from a plastic material and are joined together by aplurality of webs 78 of plastic material.

The connecting collar 30 is sized to form a friction fit with the mouth18 of container 12. Preferably, the upper end of the connecting collar30 is provided with a radially outwardly extending lip 80 which engagesthe upper face of mouth 18 to assist in sealing container 12 and actingas a stop to promote proper positioning of reservoir 32 inside container12.

The lower end of the cylindrical side wall 76 is connected to spout 74by a discontinuous web 82 of plastic material having a plurality ofopenings 84 around its circumference. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3,four such openings 84 are provided at evenly spaced 90° intervals. Theopenings 84 are provided to allow movement of air between the inside andoutside of container 12 to provide pressure equalization, whilepreventing escape of the material 22 from inside the container 12. Inorder to perform this function, the openings 84 are preferably coveredby a membrane which is permeable to air and impermeable to passage ofliquid material from insider the container 12.

In one embodiment, the connecting collar 30 is further provided with ahinged flip cap (not shown) for sealing the opening of the spout 74 whennot in use.

In another embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 6, the dispensing device10 is intended for insertion into the container 12 without initialattachment of the connecting collar 30. This facilitates the filling ofthe container 12 with the material 12 after insertion of the dischargetube 24 and measuring reservoir 32, but prior to attachment of theconnecting collar 30. Accordingly, in this embodiment, the dispensingdevice includes a tube support collar 90, which engages the interiorside wall 16 of the container 12 proximate the mouth opening 18 to holdthe discharge tube 34 in position. The tube support collar 90 mayinclude a collar around the discharge tube 24 and a plurality ofoutwardly extending spokes. An annular collar may also be provided towhich the spokes connect. The annular collar may be sized to snap intoengagement within the mouth opening 18 or to friction fit into placewithin the mouth opening 18. The tube support collar 90 holds thedischarge tube 24 in its vertical position within the container 12before attachment of the connecting collar 30.

The insertion and use of device 10 will now be described below.

Device 10 may be supplied to the user with the reservoir 32 in thevertical position as shown in FIG. 2, and with tail piece 62 engagingelongate groove 64 in a snap fit. The reservoir and discharge tube arethen inserted into the open mouth 18 of container 12 until the point 72on reservoir 32 contacts the bottom 14 of container 12. In oneembodiment, the length of the discharge tube 24 is such that the heightof the device 10 with the reservoir 32 in the position shown in FIG. 2is greater that the height of container 12. Pushing the reservoir 32against the bottom 14 of container 12 will cause pivoting of reservoir32 to the position shown in FIG. 1. The connecting collar 30 may then bepushed into the mouth opening 18 until the lip 80 contacts the upperface of mouth 18. At this point, the inlet opening 40 of reservoir 32 isspaced slightly from the bottom 14 of container 12. With the device 10installed in container 12, the liquid material 22 fills reservoir 32 andrises upwardly in the discharge tube 24. Inversion of the container 12will result in the contents of the reservoir 32 and discharge tube 24being dispensed through spout 74. When the container 12 is inverted, theinlet opening 40 of reservoir 32 is situated above the level of material22, and therefore the amount of material dispensed from device 10 willbe precisely controlled.

In another embodiment, the discharge device 10 is inserted into thecontainer 12 in the manner described above, but without attachment ofthe connecting collar 30 and using the tube support collar 90. Thematerial 22 is then inserted into the container 12, and the connectingcollar 30 is then push fit onto the upper end 26 of the discharge tube24.

The present application may be embodied in other specific forms withoutdeparting from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. Certainadaptations and modifications of the application will be obvious tothose skilled in the art. Therefore, the above discussed embodiments areconsidered to be illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of theapplication being indicated by the appended claims rather than theforegoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning andrange of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embracedtherein.

1. A dispensing device for dispensing a pre-measured amount of amaterial from a container having a closed bottom and a mouth opening,said dispensing device comprising: a discharge tube having a first endand a second end with openings being provided at the ends to permit flowof the material through the tube, the discharge tube defining alongitudinal tube axis; a connecting collar for connecting the first endof the discharge tube to the mouth opening of the container; and ameasuring reservoir attached to the second end of the discharge tube,the reservoir having a side wall defining an inlet opening and adischarge opening and forming an empty elongate body having alongitudinal reservoir axis, wherein the measuring reservoir ispivotably connected to the discharge tube about a transverse pivot axisperpendicular to the longitudinal tube axis and to the longitudinalreservoir axis, the reservoir being pivotable from a first position inwhich the tube axis is substantially parallel to the reservoir axis to asecond position in which the tube axis and the reservoir axis aresubstantially perpendicular to one another, and wherein, when thereservoir is in the first position the reservoir and the discharge tubeare insertable through the mouth opening of the container and thedischarge opening is not in communication with the second end of thedischarge tube, and wherein, when the reservoir is in the secondposition the discharge opening of the reservoir communicates with andsealingly engages the opening in the second end of the discharge tube.2. The dispending device of claim 1, wherein a portion of the reservoirand a portion of the discharge tube are in overlapping relation.
 3. Thedispensing device of claim 2, wherein the portion of the discharge tubeoverlaps the portion of the reservoir when in the second position. 4.The dispensing device of claim 1, wherein the discharge tube has alength relative to the depth of the container such that, when thedispensing device is inserted, the measuring reservoir is pressedagainst the bottom of the container and is thereby pivoted from thefirst position and held in the second position.
 5. The dispensing deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein the second end of the discharge tube has across-section smaller than a cross-section of the reservoir.
 6. Thedispensing device according to claim 1, wherein the second end of thedischarge tube is nested within at least a portion of a sidewall of thereservoir when in the second position.
 7. The dispensing deviceaccording to claim 6, wherein the inlet opening of the reservoir isformed by the sidewall at an end of the reservoir opposite the dischargeopening.
 8. The dispensing device according to claim 1, wherein theconnecting collar comprises an annular collar having a cylindrical sidewall spaced from and extending around the discharge spout, the annularcollar and the discharge spout being formed from a plastic material andbeing joined together by at least one web of said plastic material, theannular collar forming a sealed friction fit with the mouth opening ofthe container.
 9. A container for dispensing a pre-measured amount of amaterial, said container comprising: a container wall defining a mouthopening and a closed bottom of the container; and a dispensing device,including a discharge tube having a first end and a second end withopenings being provided at the ends to permit flow of the materialthrough the tube, the discharge tube defining a longitudinal tube axis,a connecting collar connecting the first end of the discharge tube tothe mouth opening of the container, and a measuring reservoir attachedto the second end of the discharge tube, the reservoir having a sidewall defining an inlet opening and a discharge opening and forming anempty elongate body having a longitudinal reservoir axis, wherein themeasuring reservoir is pivotably connected to the discharge tube about atransverse pivot axis perpendicular to the longitudinal tube axis and tothe longitudinal reservoir axis, wherein, before insertion into thecontainer, the reservoir is pivotable from a first position in which thetube axis is substantially parallel to the reservoir axis to a secondposition in which the tube axis and the reservoir axis are substantiallyperpendicular to one another, and wherein, when the reservoir is in thefirst position the reservoir and the discharge tube are insertablethrough the mouth opening of the container and the discharge opening isnot in communication with the second end of the discharge tube, andwherein, when the reservoir is in the second position the dischargeopening of the reservoir communicates with and sealingly engages theopening in the second end of the discharge tube, and the reservoir isheld in the second position after insertion into the container due tocontact with the closed bottom end of the container that causes thereservoir to pivot into and stay in the second position.
 10. Thecontainer according to claim 9, wherein a portion of the reservoir and aportion of the discharge tube are in overlapping relation.
 11. Thecontainer according to claim 10, wherein the portion of the dischargetube overlaps the portion of the reservoir when in the second position.12. The container according to claim 9, wherein the second end of thedischarge tube has a cross-section smaller than a cross-section of thereservoir.
 13. The container according to claim 9, wherein the secondend of the discharge tube is nested within at least a portion of asidewall of the reservoir when in the second position.
 14. The containeraccording to claim 13, wherein the inlet opening of the reservoir isformed by the sidewall at an end of the reservoir opposite the dischargeopening.
 15. The container according to claim 9, wherein the connectingcollar comprises an annular collar having a cylindrical side wall spacedfrom and extending around the discharge spout, the annular collar andthe discharge spout being formed from a plastic material and beingjoined together by at least one web of said plastic material, theannular collar forming a sealed friction fit with the mouth opening ofthe container.
 16. The dispensing device claimed in claim 1, wherein thelongitudinal tube axis and longitudinal reservoir axis are substantiallyaligned when the device is in the first position.
 17. The containerclaimed in claim 9, wherein the longitudinal tube axis and longitudinalreservoir axis are substantially aligned when the device is in the firstposition.